Runway

It was a new take on the classics at Prada this season. In full on Prada style, Miuccia presented a neo-retro collection worthy of all generations. Coats and skirts were spliced together with varying stripes of fabrics and textures, color patterns worthy of a 70s Vogue cover. There was also tweed sets, overlaid with sheer panels, adding depth and youthful playfulness to an often aged outfit. Angora style sleeveless sweaters were tucked into skirts, even hidden underneath sheer boxy dresses adorned with gems. The lines were precise, almost surgical. Coats flowed into skirts, lengthening the body.

There was no lack of Prada exuberance that’s for sure. As the collection neared the end, the fabrics seemed to hit the wallets harder. What was previously seen in leather suddenly was shown in fur. The coats lengthened, metallic snakeskin filling in the spots. The jewels and gems, intricately fused into flowers, covered the jacket and suit set of the last two looks, ending on a high note.

The accessories were perhaps the only element lacking pure sophistication on the runway. The earrings were large ballooned spheres, almost like something you would purchase in your local party store for your next soiree. Models shoulders were covered in netting, cuffed up high around the neck. The shoes and bags followed the same similar styling of the garments themselves, color-blocked and striped versions of iconic Prada styles. But don’t worry, they were so new in vibe that even the most tenured of Prada clientele will be clamoring to add them to their collection.

Is fresh the world that I would use for this collection? I’m not entirely sure that’s the correct word to use, but it kept popping into my mind the more that I looked at it. The silhouettes we’ve seen before, the cutouts were nothing new, how many ways can you re-invent shorts? However everything seemed, as I said earlier, fresh. In such a deeply rooted house, with access to the finest fabrics and supplies that you could barely dream of, it’s no surprise they can be crafty with their money.

They played around greatly with their leather and furs, something they are known greatly for. Strips were weaved together, like a basket. They formed a coral colored skirt with with weaving, even a formal fur coat got the treatment. Although it diminishes the practicality of the coat, it just might be good enough for a chilly spring evening. Whip stitches were prominent throughout the collection as well. Oversized pockets were stitched on with even more oversized whip stitches. In a fetishistic sense, leather harnesses were kept together with the stitches, hovering over short mini dresses. What perhaps was the most impressive and most glamorous styling, was the oversized blouses tucked into ultra tight waistbands. The fabric, even leather, was manipulated into folds and puffed in glorious volumes.

The accessories were nothing to scoff at either. They were perhaps the true catch of the show, and should prove as much when they hit stores. The heels were slick, leather sandals with cutouts and color blocked strips. Some even came with flowers cut from fur and encrusted with gems. The handbags featured these flowers as well, lining the shoulder straps. Some of the bags even had a giant A woven into the multi-colored weaving. Should we expect customizable bags come spring? Either way, they’re sure to be a hit.

The days of overtly sexual Gucci are long gone. Well, at least as long as Alessandro Michele has his say about it. For now, Gucci is a mythical, exceedingly romantic world. I’ve seen his past collection, similar in style to this one, criticized for its old-worldly personality, called grandmother chic. Perhaps in this world over over-sexualization, it’s exactly what we need. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good thigh-high slit and peek-a-boo cutouts as much as the next person, but it’s a refreshing and needed change of pace.

The collection was a little bit crazy, with just a hint of whimsy. Ruffles adorned cuffs, collars, and hems, and we even saw embroidery made to fool the eye into ruffles that weren’t actually there. Michele made use of an archive of vintage fabrics, with prints so radical and profound it took minutes of purveying to fully take in the scene. The use of embroidery is what really stole the show. Gowns were covered from head to toe in magnificent tropical scenes. Pineapples, koi fish, lily pads, and parrots were just a few of the options you’ll find this spring when you step into a Gucci store. It was a playful and fun scene.

Don’t forget about the accessories as well, the true money makers in the fashion world today. Models pushed over-sized glass frames adorned with rhinestones up their bridges, while clutching onto heritage style handbags, knuckles covered in excessive amounts of costume jewels. We saw a re-interpretation of the must have fur lined slide from the last season, as well the introduction of a platform sandal. Blouses were bound at the neck with scarves and playful, almost comic sized ties embroidered with cutesy fruits and jeweled bugs.

With the claims of increased sales and revenue over Micheles inaugural collection with the company, it seems that they will have another hit when this collection hits store floors. While the obviously sexy Gucci is of the past, this style is sexy in its own way. I know that I’m personally already coveting many pieces from this show, and can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

The mood was dark and romantic at the Burberry Prorsum show today, certain to appeal to the punk-rock in all of us. The opening look, an all lace minidress and flapping trench coat, all black, started the tone of the show. The shoes, flats with chain details, were reminiscent of the shoes we saw at Alexander Wang in New York. In a nice change of pace, that was one of the few trench coats that we saw on the runway. Instead designer Christopher Bailey opted for shorter jacket options, including toggle coats and a black leather motorcycle jacket with gold hardware and piping. Following trends that we saw across the pond in NYC, the outfits were light and sheer. Tops and dresses were made with thin lace and sheer silks, and a silky slip dress even made an appearance, something no house has been short of. On the back of some of the models were monogrammed backpacks, which also made an appearance on the lap of Cara Delevingne, sitting front row at the show. If these backpacks follow the trend of the monogrammed ponchos made famous by the brand, we’ll be seeing these backpacks all over the streets in no time.

It was as festive as a fourth of July parade! At the loss of his normal viewing space, Marc Jacobs took the opportunity to turn this into a one-of-a-kind spectacle. Red carpets were lined up outside the Ziegfeld theatre, bevies of fashion enthusiasts lining the velvet ropes waiting to capture the show before them. It was a show that only Jacobs himself could put on.

It was American the bold, the brash, and the glamourous. The influences were endless. Band jackets and sweaters were adorned with sequins, flashing by in electric red, blues, and golds. The slits were higher, high enough to render gold lame booty shorts a necessity. The film inspired setting allowed the prints to literally scream at you, with pop-art renderings of Janet Leigh in Psycho adorning coats, skirts, and everything in between. There was never a shortage of glamour extreme. Ruffles and feathers were everywhere, and the sequin embroidery was so intensely present, it would take us a year of examining garments to compile an adequate list of everything we saw. Out favorite look of the show, granted it was incredibly hard to narrow it down to one outfit, was a red gown, with thin straps that sat precariously on the edge of the models shoulders, cut low on the chest, with intricate embroidery so perfectly designed, it could make the thinest of hips look even thinner.

I wish that I could give this collection the full praise that it deserves, but alas I am one person. The intricacy, the originality, and the decadence was just too much for a single mind to comprehend. I can tell you one thing though. This one was for the books, one to study, one to celebrate. Check out images from the show after the jump!

Francisco Costa dug into the 90’s archive for this stunning collection. The brand is famous for it’s slip dresses, made famous by Kate Moss while she as in the prime of her heroin-chic party girl days. The slip dresses that were presented today were of a new design. The dresses drooped lower, playing with proportions, and we’re often deconstructed with straps flopping along the models shoulders. Knit tops seemed to disintegrate into the hem while sitting overtop of silky wide-legged pants that also were frayed at the bottom. In a surprising change of pace, we were also presented with a flower pattern, steering away from Costas normal abandonment of printed fabrics. The psychedelic flowers plastered dresses, coats, and even made there was onto handbags clutched in the models hands. My personal favorites were the slip dresses that closed out the show. Draped in thin silver chains, the dresses formless shape all of a sudden accented the models figure. A perfect way to accessorize and give a simple, but elegant dress, just a little bit of edge. Check out images of the show after the jump.

I always await a Proenza Schouler show anxiously. I mean, isn’t everyone? In my book, they’ve long established themselves as some of the most creative designers in New York, maybe even in the world, and boy this collection only cemented that fact even harder. Dresses and tops were pulled away from the shoulder, delicately tied with ribbons that slid down the back, only solidifying fashions current obsession with the shoulder. It was however the dresses that made this collection the hit that it was. There were dresses pieced together with different shapes and colors of polkadots, almost painted onto the fabric, and gorgeous pieces made out of white and red feathers in a grid pattern that swayed lightly back and forth. My personal favorites were black, white, and red concoctions that were cut away at the shoulder and hip and trimmed in ruffles. They were elegant but still erogenous enough to make you double-take just to make sure you didn’t miss anything. The accessories were nothing to snuff at either, spotting what looks to be a new bag for the house that may just have the potential to be a new it bag. Check out images from the show after the jump.

Within a few looks, you could feel the 80s inspiration dripping from each piece of the collection. The shoulders were a little more structured, the hem lines a little longer, but were never a loss of classic American glamour. Art deco prints were plastered across dresses and boxy blouses, and were delicately beaded across ball gowns so gorgeous they are destined to make their way down a red carpet. No matter the influence, Bibhu Mohapatra is always chic, always glamorous, and this collection only made that feeling even stronger. Check out images from the show after the jump.

It was more of a romantic show for Michael Kors spring summer collection. The opening look, worn by veteran model Sasha Pivovarova, was a black coat top heavy with flowers that seemed to bloom out of the material. Those flowers played an important part in the show, cascading down flowy skirts and covering a gorgeous bell sleeve knee length gown in a gorgeous shade of red that Kors himself described as nutmeg. Waists were nipped in tightly with thin leather belts, sometimes curling tightly under the models bust giving it an almost bondage feel to it. If Kors has his way for spring, the silhouettes will be looser, the tones will be earthier, but never with a loss of femininity. Check out images from the show after the jump.

In an ode to runways of the past countless seasons, fluorescent tube lights hung from the ceiling, wrapped in long dried foliage and lose strands of colored knitwear. The glare of the lights was almost overwhelming. The clothes that came down the runway however spoke a different story. It was a light affair, a more innocent tale, despite the intricate dresses full of lace, knit, and a bevy of other materials the house has become known for. There were lamé synched ankle pants, blocked jackets that stopped gently at the waist, and to die for lamb fur jackets that were oversized just enough that they almost seemed to nod towards a long winter approaching (although if we had those jackets we wouldn’t complain too much). One of those things that seems to set Rodarte season after season is the versatility of the collection. The Mulleavy sisters always manage to make clothes that appeal to a range of women. The young women of fashions elite will clamor towards the sexy waist deep plunging necklines, while the gowns that floated out to close the show would be perfection on the red carpet of an A-list celebrity. However, no matter how you feel personally towards the collection, we can all agree that everyone will feel better with a pair of Rodarte’s metallic snakeskin boots on their feet come spring. Check out images from the show after the jump.